Comments, Feedback, & Suggestions

The problem I have with the guide is that I am one of those foreigners the guide says shouldn’t be here, but I’ve been in China for over 3 years and am doing well.

I dropped out of college when I was in my sophmore year because of a family tragedy. I was really depressed, doing nothing and feeling sorry for myself, so I decided to give China a try. Because I am unqualified and moved to China after a “mismanaged life”, according to your guide I shouldn’t be here.

Yes, it was very tough in the beginning, and you are right that moving to China to teach without a degree while you are depressed is not very easy because of all the changes you have to deal with. I did feel worse in the beginning and I almost went back home, but I stuck it out and now I have a job that is much better than the first one. Next year I will have enough money saved to go back home and re-start my life. So it can be done.

My school is very happy with me and my students are also. I don’t see how the teachers with real degrees are doing any better than me. Just for the record.

I did mostly think the guide was excellent. The sections on culture shock and dating Chinese girls was spot on. It just seemed that guide was written against teachers like me especially the section on western colleages, which I think is strange because most of the teachers in China do not have degrees, like your guide says. I never lied though about who I am or pretended to be anything I am not, which I agree many do.

Anhuiguy, The guide never suggests that unqualified and inexperienced teachers should not move to China, but, instead, attempts to forewarn foreigners such as yourself against possible abuse and exploitation. The commonplace mindset among employers is that unqualified and inexperienced teachers have no choice but to accept whatever conditions are thrown at them, because they have far fewer options.

In addition, as you yourself stated, having to face the myriad of cultural adjustment issues, especially the first year, with a severe depression or other emotional baggage is extremely difficult and painful, to say the least.

We’re glad everything worked out so well for you.

Excellent guide!

Anhuiguy, there are many teachers in China who don’t have a degree and many of them are doing a good job here.

Many are not.

There are also a lot of teachers in China with a B.A and a TESOL qualification who are doing a good job.

Many are not.

There are EVEN teachers with M.A’s, PHd’s who are doing a great job.

And some them won’t be doing a great job either.

Because doing well here has far more to do with being actually able to live here, and live here happily. That is what the guide is really about (I suppose) and that is what probably 90% of FTs that come here are not able to do: enjoy it.

With regards to the guide:

1. Marriage can entirely change a teacher’s working situation and that might be worth a mention.

2. Salaries in the language schools have been going up a lot since 2006 and you might want to revise some of your numbers. 9,000+ for a newbie isn’t too bad and I have heard of this being offered in both Shenzhen and Changsha - in nice schools admittedly, but still.

3.If you are good at your job and can prove your worth beyond being just another warm body, salaries and benefits can be a lot better than is suggested in this guide. You have to be good at your job though.

4. A lot of teachers wouldn’t go near a school’s apartment and rent privately.

5. Your point about career ESL teachers is well made. The longer you do the job the better you get at it and consequently the better the schools will treat you. Those that come here for ‘just a year’ maybe getting some cultural experience but are also sentencing themselves to a lot of pain too. For everyone has to be exploited in their first year. But the long-haul guys often have pretty sweet deals (as I am sure the writers do) and the guide might have made some of the perks for sticking it out.

6. The public system works very differently to the language schools one and I suspect our writers have more experience of the public one.

Mr. Changsha, thank you for the thoughtful feedback. We agreed with you that the advantages of being married to a Chinese woman should be included and we have added such a chapter (see Advantages to Having a Chinese Wife).

The salary situation is a tricky one. We do write that there is a lot of variability in salaries across provinces and even cities. We have revised some of those ranges, in regard to private schools, but we are also aware of reports of salaries actually decreasing, especially in the government university sector.

Thanks again for your considered feedback!

Thank you for your original post. I am in a very similar situation myself.

Dropped out of college as a junior after the passing of my father because I wasn't able to concentrate on anything, plus some undiagnosed ADD issues. It has been a few years now since that happened but nothing major in my life has changed. I haven't been able to go back and finish my degree and have been working dead end jobs to make ends meet. I know that China will be a challenge and that it will be hard to deal with all of the changes. I have taken both of the adjustment quizzes and scored well. Thank you for being an inspiration to a person who wasn't sure if they could hack it in China.

Thank you also to the writers of this guide. I'm sure the information I have gained will be invaluable.

All the best,

Lia

Lia,

Our intent was never to discourage foreigners without degrees from moving to China to teach English. One of our primary goals is to adequately prepare and protect the very Westerners who are exploited the most so that, if they do decide to teach English in China, they can maximize their chances of having a successful experience.

As you have read our Guide, you now have a very realistic appreciation for what you can expect and, especially, what you need to look out for and protect yourself against.

Ken, Allan, and I wish you all the luck in the world and if you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask.

I have a legitimate degree and TESOL certificate, but I couldn't help but laugh when I found this site.

(MOD EDIT: There are thousands of such websites on the Internet offering fake diplomas and "life experience" degrees, but we would rather not promote them on this site.)

For all your diploma needs! I think they even have a 24 hour call center. There's a lot of unscrupulous employers out there, so if your tired of getting jerked around they might be able to put luck back on your side.

One of the many problems with fake diplomas, as we see it, is that they are completely unnecessary with unscrupulous employers (who will often create the fake diploma on the teacher's behalf) and they won't work with schools that want or need more than just a white face. Reputable schools actually take the time to do a little bit of background checking on their prospective teachers either before or shortly after hiring them.